Undercover at the Resort
by katiearbour95
Summary: When a woman is found dead and her husband goes missing from a romantic resort, the team stitches in to realize they have a tight time line. But when Maggie's questioning tactics don't work fast enough for Kirsten's taste, she puts herself right in the middle of the action, dragging Cameron right along with her. Will she be able to fake the emotions needed to not get caught?
1. Chapter 1

_Ding Ding_

Kirsten rolled over and picked up her lit up phone from the night stand. Unplugging it from its charger, she held it up to her ear.

"What?" she asked.

"Well Good Morning to you too, Princess," Cameron said.

"What do you want?"

"We have a new case," he informed her. "Need you and Camille to the lab."

"Okay. We'll be there soon." With that she hung up, groaning as she rolled out of bed.

She entered the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee pot where her roommate was already nursing her own mug.

"We have a case," Kirsten said.

"I know. Linus texted me."

"Did he say what it was?"

"Nope," she said.

Kirsten silently poured her cup of coffee and then went back to her room to get ready.

Once in jeans and a loose white shirt, Kirsten came in the living room to meet her roommate for a ride to work. It had taken her 26 minutes and 58 seconds to get ready. Camille was sitting at the bar in the kitchen, still drinking her coffee, but this time she also had toast and was dressed. She was wearing white skinny jeans with a maroon loose top with a long white-beaded necklace.

"Ready?" Camille asked.

"Yes."

Camille got up from her seat, putting her mug in the sink and her plate in the garbage. She picked up her purse from the front door and grabbed her key from the hook before leading them outside to her car.

As usual, the car ride was fairly silent. Kirsten played on her phone the entire time while Camille drove. Occasionally Camille would ask her something, but Kirsten would give a quick answer, immediately ending the conversation.

When they stepped out of the elevator, everyone was working in their designated stations. Camille went to Linus' side, picking up her tablet and telling him 'Good Morning.'

Kirsten walked across the room, heading towards Cameron. Maggie, noting their entrance came out of her office saying, "It's about time. Conference room in 5 minutes."

"Good Morning Sunshine!" Cameron greeted meeting her gaze.

"Hey," she said, with her normal, don't care tone. Her gaze was still looking down at her phone.

"What are you up to?" he asked, pointing towards her phone with the tablet in his hand.

"Trying to decode this message Ed left me."

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's just a bunch of numbers right now," she said. "I've been running it through some of my databases, so hopefully something will match."

"Oh okay. Ready to go get debriefed?"

"Mhmm," she hummed, finally putting her phone in her bag. Taking off her shoulder bag, she slipped it under Cameron's desk and then followed him up the steps to the conference room.

"Alright team," Maggie said as soon as they were seated. She clicked her remote towards the screen and a young blonde girl appeared on the screen. "Erin Ernst. 28. She and her husband were on a couple's retreat where she was found dead."

"What happened to the husband?" Camille asked.

"He's missing," Maggie said. She changed the screen to a handsome man. "He's our goal. We need to find him and hopefully find out what happened to her."

"What do they do?" Camille asked.

"He's a lawyer. She's a pediatrician," Maggie said.

"Oh, power couple," Linus said.

"Let's go," Kirsten said. They all pushed back their chairs and exited the room.

Kirsten quickly pulled on her catsuit and a medical assistant helped her out.

When she entered the main area, everyone was buzzing around prepping their areas.

Camille walked over and handed her a com. Kirsten slipped it in her ear and then fixed her ponytail.

"Ready?" Camille asked.

"Always," Kirsten said, heading to the fishtank. She climbed up the stairs and slid into the cool water as Cameron started his countdown.

"I need lights at 20%," he called out.

Kirsten saw the lights dim as she anchored her feet to the platform and spread her hands over the keyboards.

"I need a go, no-go for stitch neurosync.," he called. "Life-sci!"

"Go."

"Sub-bio?"

"Go."

"Engineering?"

"Go."

"Communications?"

"I'm a go," Linus called.

"Medical?"

"She's good. Go."

"Com Check One-Two. Can you hear me, Stretch?"

"Loud and clear, girlfriend." She closed her eyes and relaxed.

"Okay, induce stitch neurosync on my mark. Three, Two, One, Mark!" he pushed his mice forward and connected her consciousness with Erin's.

"What do you see?" Cameron asked.

"I'm in a hotel room. Very red. She's with her husband." She paused for a second before adding, "His name is Derek."

"Hold on Stretch," he said. "I'm moving you."

"Okay," she said. When her vision cleared she found herself near stables.

"What about now?" he asked.

"They are getting ready to go on a trail ride," she told him. "An instructor is going over the rules. There are about 3 other couples here with them."

She got silent again as the memory changed.

"They're in a ballroom. Everyone's dancing, there's a band. The People Pleasers."

"On it," Camille called. "They play primarily for the retreat. Not much else."

The memory shifted and Kirsten refound her focus.

"They are walking past the pool towards some pop up tents behind the property. Looks like they're going on a hike."

"Okay Stretch, you're getting close to the end. 25 seconds."

"I need to be closer," she said.

Cameron moved his mice, pulling her closer towards the death.

There are the same couples from the trail ride," she said. "Erin and Derek are in the back."

The couple was holding hands, following their group when all of a sudden a man reached out and grabbed Erin, pulling her into the trees. Derek was dragged behind her as their hands were still connected.

She let out a squeal but the man grabbed her, covering her mouth with his hand. Another man grabbed Derek. Their hands fought to stay together, but eventually the men wrenched them apart.

"Time to bounce, Stretch. 10 seconds."

"Hold on," she said.

"Heart rate is elevating," Ayo called out.

The man wrapped his hands around her neck, but because he was behind her, she never got a good look at him.

"5 seconds, Kirsten," Linus said.

"Come on, bounce!" Cameron told her.

She typed in her name and password to bounce. "I heart Linus," she said aloud as she typed.

"Well?" he asked as she sat up.

"Two guys pulled them off the trail into the woods. I couldn't see their faces."

"The husband?" she asked.

"Last I saw, he was with her. I didn't get close enough to see how she actually died."

"Refractory period?" Maggie asked.

"None," Linus called out. "The memories collapsed when she bounced."

"Time to call Fisher," Maggie said heading back to her office.


	2. Chapter 2

"So we have a slight problem," Maggie said, entering the conference room where they were all seated, Kirsten having changed back into her normal clothes. They all turned their attention to Maggie. "Fisher is on special assignment again, which means we will have to lead this case."

"Okay," Kirsten said. "Then let's get on it."

"Kirsten, remember the rules. I lead, you don't speak."

"Yeah, come on." Kirsten said, getting up and walking out of the room.

"The retreat is about 6 hours away. We may need to get a hotel near it, so be sure to pack a bag," Maggie called to her team.

"Whoop! Whoop! Road Trip!" Linus called.

"What are you…" Maggie started.

"Oh, we're coming," Camille said. "Don't even think about leaving us here."

Maggie sighed before heading back to her office to check in with her authorities. She wandered if she would ever get control and the respect of her team.

"So what are you packing?" Camille asked, coming into the room with a giant suitcase.

"Just a few things," Kirsten said. She had a small duffle bag with a couple pants, a few shorts, and 4 tops along with some underclothes and toiletries.

"That's not going to last long," Camille said.

"If I need anything else I'll just buy it while I'm there."

"Really?" she asked, shifting through the bag. "What about to sleep in?"

"Right," she said grabbing a few big t-shirt.

"That's attractive," Camille commented.

Kirsten just shrugged before zipping up her bag and picking it up. They walked to the front where the black van the NSA had provided was sitting.

Once they managed to get Camille's stuff in the back, Camille and Linus quickly claimed the middle bench. Cameron was sitting in the back, clearly offering the option for Kirsten to sit up front with Maggie. Calculating her options, Kirsten climbed into the back next to Cameron, rather spending her trip speaking with him than Maggie.

Naturally, Camille and Linus passed the time with their constant arguing – at least until Maggie told them to 'Shut Up or she's going to leave them on the side of the road.'

Kirsten silently worked on her phone, trying to work that code out.

"Did you try the quantum computer?" Cameron asked, leaning over the seat between them to whisper to Kirsten.

She looked up at him. "No. I wanted to see if I could figure it out on my own first before I involved the entire team."

"Oh," he said, sitting back up.

She looked at him, cocking her head as she tried to figure his emotion out.

"Cameron," she asked.

"Yeah?"

"You said I could ask you when I didn't understand an emotion."

"Always."

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be?" he asked.

"Well, when you spoke to me, you leaned towards me. When I answered, you pulled away. Did I say something to upset you?"

"No," he sighed. "I just felt like I overstepped into your business. I didn't want to pry."

"It's fine," she said, pulling her knee up on the seat so she was facing him. She held her phone out towards him. "I'm not hiding anything from you. See these numbers?" She pointed at the screen. "I found them at the bottom of a letter Ed left for me when I was a child. I had thrown it away, but apparently the babysitter kept it. At first I never thought anything of it, but after the flash drive and the cassette tape, I wanted to double check. I feel like he's left me all the answers, I just need to find them."

"That's a good point," he said, nodding.

"I just want to understand as much as I can," she said. "I still don't quite understand it all. It's different now, you know? Before I never cared for Ed or what he's done for me. But now? Now that I've been stitching and kind of have a better understanding for my emotions, I feel…. I'm not sure what the emotion is, but just not right, for the way I treated him."

"Guilty?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, nodding. That sounded about right. "I just don't want his efforts to go to waste, you know?"

"I understand," he said. "And don't be afraid to ask for help. I'll be more than happy to help you however you need."

"Thanks," she said, turning straight again to continue working on her phone.

The next time she looked up from her phone, she noticed that it was beginning to get dark. Camille had her feet thrown over Linus' legs and was reading some thick Sci-Fi novel. Linus was playing some game on his phone. Cameron was staring out the window beside him.

"I need a refill on gas. Are we ready for a dinner break?" Maggie asked the group.

The four of them groaned various answers in agreement, so Maggie pulled off the next exit to find something to eat. Kirsten looked down at her phone. It read 6:11pm. They had climbed in the van at 1:53pm, which means they still had at least two hours to go, however long that would take. She figured it would take them between 30 minutes to an hour to eat and get gas, which would put them back on the road around 7pm and not arriving until 9pm.

They found a small BBQ place that was attached to the gas station where they grabbed dinner. They tried to keep things normal, but with Maggie there, it was slightly more awkward than their usual banter. They kept the conversation light and work related. Maggie alerted them that the NSA had provided them with 3 rooms, one for her, one for the girls, and one for the boys.

Maggie also went through a very brief plan for tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, Maggie only would enter the hotel and question the managers and staff. Once they gathered that information, they would regroup and go from there.

When they all piled back in the car, it was 7:22pm, a little past Kirsten's calculated time. As they got back on the interstate, they all soon fell asleep. Camille was curled into Linus. Cameron was leaning against his window and when Kirsten fell asleep, she was leaning on her window as well too.

When the car came to a stop, Maggie woke them all up. Kirsten found Cameron's head leaning against her shoulder at this point. She nudged him, waking him up so they could get out.

"Sorry," he muttered as he sat up and stretched. They all climbed out the car in front of the hotel they were staying in.

It was fairly nice. The boys were in the adjoining room to the two roommates. They had very comfortable 2 double bed rooms with white comforter sets. A flat screen TV adorned the room along with a small sitting area for room service. Maggie was across the hall from them. Once Maggie checked them in and got them settled, she locked herself in the room for the night.

Camille quickly changed into her Pajamas while Kirsten settled down. When she came out, Kirsten took a turn in the bathroom. Once she was finished, Camille was nowhere to be found but the adjoining door was cracked open.

Pulling on a pair of shorts under her big t-shirt, Kirsten crossed the room to the adjoining door before slowly pushing it open to peek in. Camille was lounging on one of the beds while Cameron was sitting on the other flipping though the channels on the TV. Linus had his laptop set up at the small table in the corner of the room.

"Hey Stretch," Cameron called to her from the door. Kirsten's eyes turned to meet his.

"Hey," she said, slipping into the room and walking towards his bed where she sat on the end.

"So what's your plan?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Maggie said you can't go tomorrow. I have a feeling that's not going to work for you."

She shrugged. "I don't really make plans. I just play it by ear."

Camille laughed. "That's so true."

"I'm trying to jump into their camera feeds now," Linus said from the table. "That way we kind of know what's going on and where things are. From the looks of it, there are only a few in the main building though; Lobby, elevators, a ballroom."

"I saw the ballroom in the stitch," Kirsten said. "They had that band."

"Right," Camille said, pointing at her, "The People Pleasers."

"That's the weirdest name for a band," Cameron commented.

Kirsten rolled on to her back across the foot of Cameron's bed so she was facing the ceiling. He was sitting up with his feet straight in front of him. He finally gave up on flipping through channels and finally just switched the screen off.

"I don't understand why she let us come if she wasn't going to let us help," Cameron said.

"Like we gave her a choice," Camille commented.

"We solve all the cases," Kirsten said. "I don't understand why they haven't figured that out by now. They just can't understand the way I do being in the Stitch."

"Hey," Cameron said. "I come too."

"Because you want to," Kirsten said. "Not because I make you."

"It's not safe for you to do those things alone," Cameron argued.

"I know, I know," Kirsten said, rolling her eyes.

"How are those cameras coming?" Camille asked, changing the subject.

"I can see the live feed," Linus told her, "But I can't see the history or anything like that without direct access to the panel. It's almost like it doesn't exist."

"Let me see," Kirsten said, rolling off the bed and taking the chair beside him. She pulled the laptop in front of her and pulled up multiple black screens with coding, typing away at an angry pace. Camille and Cameron also came over to watch over her shoulder.

"That's because there is no memory space," Kirsten said. "There's no type of tape or disk or drive to record on." She typed and a few more boxes popped up and disappeared before they could analyze what she was doing. "Somebody must have removed it."

"Should we tell Maggie?" Cameron asked.

"Not now," Camille said. "We probably all need to get some sleep if we're getting started on this tomorrow."

Linus nodded as he took his laptop back and shut it down.

Camille made to climb into Linus' bed but was stopped with a quick "Oh, hell no," from Cameron.

"I am not sleeping two feet away from you two while you try and not so discreetly have sex," he said.

Linus pouted at him, but Camille shrugged her shoulders with a snarky, "Fine. Your loss," before heading back to their room.

As Kirsten exited behind her, she heard Cameron mutter, "Yeah. Definitely not my loss."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, they quickly got dressed and met downstairs for the complimentary breakfast provided in the lobby. Linus had his laptop by his side along with the communication earpieces and Ipads from the lab.

After breakfast they climbed into the van. The retreat was pretty far out, in the middle of nowhere almost. As they parked in front of the resort though, they made a few changes. They brought up a dark tint over the windows, obscuring the view through them. They packed the seats up in exchange for the tables that were folded up into the walls. Setting up the laptop and Comms, they hooked Maggie up so they could listen to her and pulled up the camera feed so they could see.

"Stay here," Maggie said, strictly, looking directly at Kirsten. "I don't want you getting involved until I say so."

Kirsten rolled her eyes.

Maggie let out a sigh before getting out of the vehicle and heading for the entrance.

The team had dressed fairly casual. After all, it was the middle of the summer and quite hot outside. They had on shorts and t-shirts and made themselves confortable in the NSA ready-made van.

Maggie entered the lobby, flashing her badge and asking to speak to the manager. She was immediately led to a back office to meet with a young woman who looked to be in about her late 20s, early 30s.

"Hi, I'm Mary Lynn, the manager. How can I help you?" she gestured to the chair in front of her desk.

Lucky for them there was a camera in her office so they could see as well as hear.

"Maggie," she said, taking a seat. "I'm with the NSA. I'm here to ask a few questions about Derek and Erin Ernst."

"Right," the woman said. "I can tell you what I told the other officers, but I'm afraid I don't know much on the subject. They had a reservation for 2 weeks. They were scheduled for the hike. Halfway through the hike, our trail guide noticed they had disappeared. They were on their honeymoon, so it was assumed they just slipped off the path to get, you know, honeymoon-y. Anyway, when they didn't show up for their dinner reservations that night, we sent out a search party and found Erin in the woods. We have no idea what happened to Derek. We called the authorities immediately. Never touched or moved anything."

"Were any of their things missing in their room?" Maggie asked.

"Not that we could tell," she said. "Their clothes and bags looked as though they were still here."

"And you have no idea about the husband?" Maggie asked again.

"Afraid not," the woman said.

"Do you mind if I walk around. Check out the property. Ask the guests a few questions."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm going to have to politely decline. We're trying to keep this incident on the down-low. It won't be good for business if it gets out that we had a woman die here and her husband is missing."

"But I'm with…"

"Do you have a warrant?" the manager asked.

"No," Maggie said.

"I'm sorry, I'll be happy to answer any other questions to the best of my ability but I have to put my business first." She stood up. "Please, let me escort you out."

"Well that wasn't helpful," Kirsten said, taking her earpiece out.

"So what now?" Cameron asked.

"It's my turn," Kirsten said, getting up and climbing out of the vehicle. Cameron jumped up to scramble after her.

"Maggie said to stay put," Linus called to her.

"She won't listen," Cameron said over his shoulder as he followed her into the hotel.

Kirsten walked up to the front desk with Cameron on her heel.

"Hi," she said cheerfully to the woman behind the front desk.

"Good Morning," she greeted with a big smile. "How can I help you?"

"My name is Kirsten and this is my husband Cameron. We had a reservation for this week."

Cameron quickly covered up his surprise with a cough.

"Let me take a look," she said, typing in her computer. "What's the last name?"

"Goodkin," Kirsten told her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't seem to find it. Would there be another name?"

"I had my assistant, Camille, book it. Perhaps she put it under my maiden name. Can you check under Kirsten Clark?"

"Psh, assistant my ..." Camille's voice came through the Comm that was still in Cameron's ear.

"Ahh, here it is," she said. "I'm sorry about that Mrs. Goodkin. Just give me a second and I'll get your keys together."

"Thank you," she said.

As the woman got there keys together, Maggie came from the back hall where the manager's office was located. She did not look happy.

"Thank you for your help," Maggie told the manager shaking her hand before walking away. "I told you to stay put," she whispered in the Comm as she walked out the front entrance.

Cameron shrugged innocently.

"Can I get someone to help you with your bags?" the woman asked, noticing they had none with them.

"There was actually a mix up at the airport," Kirsten said. "It's been a long day. Any chance there is somewhere we could pick up a few things until our stuff is found?"

"Absolutely," she said. "There's a boutique around the corner with some basics. Unfortunately, our location is pretty remote, the closest shopping center is a few hours away, but if you need anything else, we can order it for you."

"Thank you so much," Kirsten said, taking the keys from her outstretched hand. We really appreciate your help."

"No problem. Just let me know if there's anything else I can help you with. There will be an itinerary in your room for the events this week. Please make sure to let us know which ones you plan to attend."

"Thanks," Kirsten said, turning around.

"Thank you," Cameron said as he wound his arm around her waist. "Come on, cupcake," he said through a fake smile.

As soon as they were to the elevators he turned to her. "Why did you do that?"

She quickly placed her finger to her lips and pointed to the camera in the corner of the elevator.

He nodded as they headed to their floor.

They found there room much cozier than the ones at their hotel last night. The room was adorned by a large King-Sized bed draped in a red bed set. There was a 2-seater table near a small kitchenette which had a large basketful of goodies in it.

Kirsten went to dig through the basket. Cameron began speaking to the team over the Comm the minute the door shut behind them.

"I have no idea," he was saying. "I know! You don't have to tell me. I don't know!" He groaned before ripping it out of his ear and handing it to her.

She ignored him and continued to dig through the basket.

"Champagne, massage oil, chocolates, oh here's the itinerary," she said, pulling out a paper booklet. "Dang," she said. "They offer a lot of classes. This is going to be a lot to cover in one week. We may have to split up."

"We can't split up," he said. "We're a newlywed couple according to you. We're supposed to be madly in love."

"Oh, right," she said.

"Maggie's not happy," he said, nodding to the forgotten Comm on the table beside her.

"Right," she said, picking it up and slipping it in her ear. "I have an idea," she told them.

"I told you to stay put," came Maggie's voice. "You deliberately disobeyed me. This is why I shouldn't have brought you kids with me."

"Excuse me," she said. "But these kids are the ones who always solve your mysteries. And your plan obviously wasn't working. We got this."

"I don't like this," she said, "But since you already dug a hole, you might as well use it to your advantage. We'll drop your stuff off to you. In the meantime, you are to keep us updated at all times. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, taking it out of her ear and turning it off.

Cameron cocked an eyebrow up at her. "Well?"

"She said she'd drop off our stuff and we needed to keep her updated."

"She was cool with it?"

"Not exactly," she said. "But she accepted it."

"So what now?" he asked.

"Itinerary," she said. "We basically have all these group classes where we pick what we want to do, and then there are large group activities. Like the ball and dinner."

"Let me see," he said, taking it from her. "Horseback-riding, Hiking, Napkin Folding, really? Couples Counciling, Water Volleyball, Croquet, horseshoes, paper machete, tennis, raquet-ball, ballroom dancing? Seriously, some of this stuff is insane."

"I think we should do the hike and the horseback-riding, since that's what I saw them doing in the stitch," she said.

"Okay," he said nodding. "And the ball? We're going to need appropriate formal wear."

"True. Why don't we go downstairs and check out the boutique. See what we can find."

"Sounds good," he said.

She put the brochure down and handed him the extra card key, which he slipped into his wallet. He held the door open as he allowed her to pass.


	4. Chapter 4

They were careful this time what they said, as they made their way back down to the lobby to find the boutique they were told about when they checked it.

It was around the corner, and it had a small selection of anything you could possibly need. They split up, Kirsten heading to the women's section and Cameron to the men's.

Kirsten grabbed a few pairs of jeans and a variety of tops, along with some shorts. She found a few underclothes as well to add to her growing pile.

She found Cameron in the dressing room, trying on a nice suit.

"What do you think, Stretch?" he asked, fixing his cuffs and looking in the mirror.

"Seems you can clean up nice," she said.

"Did you find a dress?" he asked.

"I'm not really a dress person," she commented.

Cameron thought back to the fashion show they went to. It was definitely a dress-up occasion, but Kirsten chose to wear a pair of black dress pants and a flowing white top.

"Well," he said, "You have to have a dress for the ball we need to go to."

"Right," she said. "Um, I'll go look and see if I can find something suitable."

She wondered back to the dress section, which she had purposefully avoided the first time around. She had left her pile of clothes on the chair by the dressing room Cameron was currently in, so her arms were empty.

She flipped through the dresses, but nothing really stuck out to her. She did find a wine colored gown that would have suited her, but they didn't have her size.

Cameron came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She paused in his arms, the familiarity of them around her instantly comforting.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"We're newlyweds," he said. "We have to play it up."

While Kirsten heard him, she could also feel his heart beat against her shoulder blade and it was beating at a much higher pace than normal.

"Are you okay?" she asked, turning to look at him.

"Yeah," he said. "Why?"

"Your heart is beating really fast," she stated. "Is that normal for you."

"It is when I'm around you," he said, a blush rising to his cheeks.

Kirsten shrugged it off, not really getting the meaning of his comment.

She continued flipping through the rack, trying to find something, anything.

Cameron picked up a simple white gown and held it up for her to view.

"What about this one?" he asked. "It kind of reminds me of your Halloween costume."

"I'll try it," she said. "I don't have anything else it seems."

She follows him back to the dressing room and he hangs it up for her before sitting in the chairs positioned in front of the area.

"Where did our clothes go?" she asked.

"The sales girl took them to the front counter," he said.

"Okay." She pulled the curtain back and proceeded to change.

Cameron pulled out his phone, where he saw he had a message from Linus.

 _Linus: How's it going?_

 _Cameron: It's going. We're getting some clothes from the boutique._

 _Linus: Hot lingerie for your honeymoon? ;)_

 _Cameron: NO! Just some basics._

 _Linus: You know, this could potentially be a very rewarding assignment for you._

 _Cameron: Shut up._

"How does it look?" Kirsten asked, pulling the curtain aside and stepping out of the little room.

Cameron's mouth dropped slightly as he took in the woman in front of him. She looked like a bride in the simple gown. The pure white made her seem to glow. The material perfectly cupped her breast, not overly modest, but not trashy and revealing at all, and cinched at her waist. The material continued down, where it reached the floor in a puddle at her feet. It put her angel costume to shame and brought out the color of her cheeks.

"That bad?" she asked, taking his silence as a negative thing. "I told you I don't like dress…"

"No, no," he said, holding his hands out to her as he stood up and interrupted her. "You just, you look gorgeous."

"Thanks," she said, a little quizzical at what was going on in his head. She turned to reenter the dressing room and change back. "Do we need anything else?"

"I don't think so," he said.

She handed him the dress around the curtain and told him to go tell them to charge it to their room.

He headed to the front with her dress in his hand. He found the sales girl that had helped him earlier and had her ring all their purchases up.

She came up behind him, sliding her left hand around his waist and placing a shoe box on the counter next to him.

"This too, please," she told the sales girl.

"Like this?" she whispered in his ear as the sales girl went to get the other shoe from the back.

He gulped but nodded his head, putting his arm around her and pulling her to his side.

"Would you like me to have these sent to your room?" the sales girl asked.

"Sure," Kirsten told her. "Come on, honey. Let's go look around the resort."

"Thanks," Cameron told her. He put his hand on the small of Kirsten's back to lead her out of the boutique.

Once they exited, Kirsten felt a slight tremor from Cameron's hand as he slid it down her arm to grasp her hand in his. He interlaced his fingers with hers and looked up at her.

"What's wrong?" she asked him, tilting her head in confusion, her hand strong and sure in his.

"Nothing," he said.

"Okay," she says.

"You want to get some lunch?" he asks.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

As they entered the lobby, Kirsten was busy peeking outside. Cameron nudged her.

"What?" she asked, turning to him.

"Our friends decided to join us," he said, nodding towards the front counter, where Camille and Linus were currently standing.

"Oh good," she said. "Now we can split up."

"Camille," Kirsten called out.

"Kirsten!" Camille squealed, coming towards her. "I didn't know y'all were honeymooning here. We totally would have gone somewhere else for our anniversary trip."

Kirsten was confused by her outburst, but accepted it and moved on. "She's playing it up," Cameron whispered in her ear. "Just go with it."

"Oh," she said, as she looked forward just in time to accept Camille's embrace. "Yeah! We just got here this morning. We had terrible luck getting here though. Airport lost our luggage, Resort almost lost our reservation, but it's starting to look up."

Camille looked a little shocked at Kirsten playing along. She had a habit of killing anything not straight-forward or literal.

Cameron shook hands with Linus and when he did he was surprised to feel three round shapes pressing into his palm.

"To help you two blend in," Linus said.

Cameron pulled his hand back and looked down, finding 2 wedding bands and an engagement ring in his hand. He slipped them into his pocket to give to her when they were alone.

"Mr. and Mrs. Goodkin," the front desk woman called.

"Yes?" They turned to her.

"Your luggage has arrived. Would you like me to have it sent to your rooms?"

"That would be great," Cameron said. "Is there somewhere around here we can get lunch?"

"Of course," she said. "Straight down that hall, second door on the right, you'll find our resort restaurant. You'll find a buffet there."

"Thanks," they all said.


	5. Chapter 5

They headed down the hall where the woman had pointed. They pushed a couple of the tables together so that they could sit together and talk. They made their plates and settled around the table to catch up.

"I can't believe Maggie let you come," Cameron whispered to them.

"We still had the Comms on when Kirsten said you needed to split up. We worked her off of that."

"Smooth," Cameron said, nodding in agreement.

They tried to keep the conversation light while they people watched around them. After they ate, they made their way upstairs to Linus and Camille's room, where they had luggage with hidden technology in it.

"So any suspects yet?" Camille asked, settling on the bed next to the suitcase Linus was unzipping.

"Not really," Kirsten said. "We really haven't had a chance to look around yet. All we did was buy clothes from the boutique."

"Gotcha," Camille said.

"I want to know why the security feeds are messed up," Linus said. "What's the point in having the footage if you can't review it?"

"What are you doing for activities?" Kirsten asked, picking up the brochure in their identical basket.

"What do they have again?" Camille asked reaching for the pamphlet. "Really? Croquet, water aerobics? These things aren't romantic at all. Where's the couples massage?"

"On the back," Kirsten said, now thoroughly engrossed in watching Linus on the laptop.

"Now here we go," Camille said.

"Cameron and I are going horseback riding and hiking, so pick something other than that so we can cover more ground."

"Yes ma'am," Camille said, mock saluting.

Kirsten raised an eyebrow at her but continued anyway. "And we need to make sure not to draw too much attention to ourselves. I'm sure they don't have many couples know each other here."

Cameron chuckled.

"What?" she asked, giving him her attention.

"I just can't believe how different you're acting here."

"I'm not acting different," she said.

"Yeah," Camille chimed in. "She's still as bossy as usual."

Kirsten turned to give Camille a look.

"You're letting us in on your plan," Cameron said. "Normally you just do and we helplessly chase after you."

"Yeah, well, it's a different situation," she said. "Now helplessly chase after me as we go back to our room. We'll see you guys later." She turned and walked out the room, pulling her key card from her pocket.

"I'm not helpless you know," he said, catching up to her in the hallway.

"I know. I was just playing off your words," she said.

They came to their door and she slipped the card key in and opened the door. In the room, all of their packages from shopping were waiting for them, along with the bags they had left at the hotel that morning.

Closing the door behind him, Cameron cleared his throat before saying, "Uh, Kirsten."

"What?" she asked turning to him.

"I have something for you." He reached into his pocket, pulling out the three rings.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"Well, normally, married people wear rings."

"Right," she said. "I don't really remember my parents and Ed was never married, so it didn't really cross my mind." She paused. "Am I doing okay? I'm not really sure how this is all supposed to work."

"It's okay," he said. "We'll get through this together. Just like we always do."

He reached down and took her left hand in his bringing it up so he could slide the rings on her finger.

"Why two?" she asked.

"Engagement ring," he says as he slides them on one at a time, "and wedding band."

As he gets them in place, he hesitantly raises her hand to his lips where he kisses her ring finger knuckle.

"Uh, where did you get them?" she asked, slightly distracted by the entire thing. Being unable to understand her emotions took a lot of time and energy to figure out her confusion. Right now, she could feel her heart rate accelerating, much like his did earlier in the shop, and she still couldn't figure out why.

"Linus brought them," he said, finally releasing her hand.

"Oh," she said.

They paused and just looked at each other. Kirsten had no idea how much time had passed before he broke the moment and said, "Why don't we go down to the pool."

She nodded her head and stepped away, taking a step back and looking around for their stuff. She located her shopping bags and her duffle bag. Emptying them all out, she divided everything by type and organized it so she could see what all she had. She noticed Cameron was carefully hanging up all his things in the closet. She somehow ended up with a few extra things; some sexy lingerie that she was sure she avoided in the boutique, a skimpy black bikini that she was positive she never bought and a few camisoles with some very high hems and very low necklines.

He phone dinged on the bed beneath the mountain of clothes. When she shifted some things around and managed to find it, Kirsten saw she had a message from Camille.

 _Camille: I updated your wardrobe. You're welcome._

 _Kirsten: Do you think of me as trashy?_

 _Camille: It's not trashy, it's SEXY!_

 _Kirsten: I'm not wearing this stuff._

 _Camille: You know, you're supposed to be a newlywed couple on their honeymoon. If you don't play the part, they're going to figure you out._

 _Kirsten: What do newlyweds do?_

 _Camille: You know that couple we see on the subway that's always in each other's laps kissing and trying to be as close as possible?_

 _Kirsten: That's how newlyweds act?_

 _Camille: Yup. Pretty much!_

 _Kirsten: And I need to act that way with Cameron…._

 _Camille: I'm 100% positive that he won't mind._

 _Kirsten: I need to get dressed. We're going to the pool._

 _Camille: I packed a little number for you! See you there. ;)_

"Who's that?" Cameron asked, coming out of the bathroom. He had on a pair of swim trunks and a black men's tank top.

"Camille," Kirsten said. "I told her we're going to the pool."

"Okay," he said. "What did she say?"

"To make sure we act like a newlywed couple and not to blow our cover."

"She sounds like she has no confidence in us," he commented.

Kirsten just shrugged before picking up the bathing suit, matching cover up, her phone and her toiletries bag before heading to the bathroom.

She set the stopwatch on her phone to make sure she didn't take too long before pulling out her razor so she could shave her legs. If she had to be that close to Cameron, she figured it was a good idea. She quickly cleaned up and brushed her teeth before finally slipping into the swimsuit Camille had provided for her. She pulled on her cover up and looked down at her phone to see it nearing the 15 minute mark. She gathered her things and stopped the clock before heading back into the room.

The first thing she noticed was that Cameron had put away all of her clothes.

"Where did my clothes go?" she asked.

He looked up, startled, and then the blush began to rise to his cheeks again. He rubbed his hand on the back of his head as he said, "Oh, I put them in the drawers. I hope you don't mind."

"That's fine," she said, putting her dirty clothes in the now empty duffle. "You ready?"

"Yup," he said. He went into the bathroom and came back out carrying two fluffy white towels.

Kirsten grabbed one of the bags from their shopping and put the towels in it, along with the sunscreen from the basket the hotel provided. They added their cell phones on top and then headed out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

When they were in the elevator, Kirsten tentatively reached out and took Cameron's hand in hers. He looked down at their hands and then at her.

"This okay?" she whispered.

He nodded and squeezed her hand in reassurance. When they entered the pool area, they mentally counted a total of 12 couples, plus Camille and Linus. Most of the couples were sharing an oversized lounger. The others were in the pool, some wrapped around their significant others, talking secretly forehead to forehead, a few chasing each other in a splash or tickle battle.

Camille and Linus were sitting in one of the lounge chairs, he in blue swim trucks, her in a skimpy white bikini much like the one Kirsten was wearing under her cover up. Like in the car, Camille was draped over Linus, reading a magazine, while Linus was whispering in her ear. Every so often she would swat at him or shove him and he would laugh in turn and then they would share a kiss and the cycle would begin again. They fit right in amongst the other couples. That view alone made Kirsten determined to fit in too.

While Cameron tried to go towards their friends, Kirsten pulled on his arm, saying "Let's sit over here."

They found an empty lounger and settled down, sitting side by side. Kirsten pulled the sunscreen out of the bag and handed it to Cameron. She stood up, pulled her cover up off and sat back down, with her back to him so he could rub it on her. She'd seen enough of the couples doing this to know it was the right thing to do.

She wasn't sure how much time passed, but when he didn't start rubbing sunscreen on her, she turned around. She found his mouth slightly open and his gaze taking in her body.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, doing a quick check of her body to find the offense.

"No..Noth…Nothing," he said, snapping out of it. "You just look great is all."

"It's not too trashy is it?" she asked as he started rubbing the sunscreen on her back. "Camille snuck it in my bag."

"No!" he said. "Not on you. It's uh…it's kind of sexy."

She smiled. "Thanks."

He finished her back and she spread it on the rest of herself before turning towards him.

"Your turn. Take your shirt off so I can get your back," she said.

"Uh," he paused, his mind flashing to the unattractive scar adorning his chest. "I was just going to leave it on."

"Why?" she asked. "Because of your scar?"

"Yeah. It's kind of a turn off."

"I don't think so," she reassured him. "It means you're a fighter. And that you won."

"Thanks," he said smiling at her. "But I'm pretty sure everyone else doesn't feel that way."

"Who cares?" she said. She noticed the people around her, all sharing kisses and thought she'd give it a try. She leaned forward and pressed her lips gently to his in a quick chaste kiss. She pulled back so fast that he didn't have the opportunity to realize what had happened.

"I uh…" he stuttered.

"Sorry," she said. "Trying to fit in, remember."

"It's okay," he said reaching one hand up to cup her cheek. "But if we're going to kiss, we, uh, ought to do it properly, don't you think?" Reaching his hand around her neck, he gently pulled her forward, pressing his lips to hers. Much like the first kiss she didn't remember, she responded, it being an almost natural thing between the two. One of her hands rested on his chest and his other hand threaded in hers on his lap. He deepened the kiss before releasing her hand to pull her on his lap. Without breaking, he leaned back against the lounger with her settled into his side, half draped across him. When they pulled back for air, she gave him a quizzical look, but then she pulled him in to kiss again.

One of their phones beeped, making them finally pull back from each other. After a slight pause, Cameron reached down for his phone. Unlocking it, he found a message from Linus.

 _Linus: Nice man! Are you two even breathing?_

Cameron ignored it, putting it back in the bag before turning to look at Kirsten again.

Kirsten was thoroughly confused. Her pulse was racing again and she was breathing heavily. Her stomach felt funny, but not like she was going to be sick. Her skin was tingling where it touched Cameron's. She remembered reading something about this emotion, but she couldn't quite place it now that she was in the moment. They laid back and she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. She considered asking him what it all meant, but then she remembered his heart racing earlier and his blushing and decided to wait and talk to Camille about it.

"Why don't we get in the pool," Kirsten suggested, this emotion starting to go to her head. "We can meet some of the other couples and talk to them. See if they knew Erin and Derek."

They untangled their limbs and got up and Kirsten remembered her original mission. Stopping Cameron, she turned him to face her. Slowly, and keeping her eyes on his for approval, she started to remove his shirt. She saw his eyes flicker in embarrassment, but he didn't stop her. She reached down to grab the sunscreen, but before opening it, she placed her hand on his chest, leaning forward to place a kiss on his scar. Covering it with her hand, she said, "Proof of how strong you are."

Putting the sunscreen on her hands and rubbing them together to warm it up, she started at his scar and worked outward, covering his torso. She turned him around to get his back and arms as well. Once she had finished, she threaded her hand in his and led him to the pool.

As they took the first step, Cameron let out a gasp. "That's cold!"

"No it's not," she said, sliding in ahead of him and dragging him behind her.

"You slide into a tank of water daily," he said. "I don't."

She laughed. "Don't be a wimp."

He followed behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to his chest, effectively covering his scar. She allowed him the luxury, knowing this was hard for him, but also thinking it might look romantic. She turned in his arms to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

They settled against the wall, close to another couple much in the same position as them. They were whispering to each other, but looked up when Cameron and Kirsten neared them.

They shared a smile and Kirsten used that as her opportunity. She turned around in his arms to face them.

"Hey. I'm Kirsten and this is my husband Cameron. We just got here."

"Nice to meet you," the girl said, letting go of her husband's embrace to face them. "I'm Katherine and this is my husband Garrett."

"Nice to meet you too. Do y'all have any suggestions for what to choose on the itinerary? There are just so many choices!"

"Well, we've done the couples massage, that is a must. It was amazing. The ball is beautiful, but everyone goes to that. Couples tennis is pretty fun. Oh, but I would avoid the hike. I heard something about a couple going missing last week on the hike."

"Did you know the couple?" Kirsten asked.

"We never met them," Katherine said. "But there were police officers here when we checked in, so we asked around.

"When did y'all check in?" Cameron asked.

"A couple days ago," she said. "On Wednesday."

"Well that's good to know," Kirsten said.

"If we hadn't have booked and put our deposit down so far in advance we would have gone elsewhere," Garrett said. "But this place is supposed to be top of the line, so we stayed."

"It seems nobody else got run off either," Cameron said, gesturing around to all the couples.

"There wasn't a whole lot of news about it," Katherine said. "Just some hushed rumors."

"I imagine the management wouldn't want that to get out." Kirsten said.

"Yeah, probably not," Katherine agreed. "We're just planning to stay close to the resort for our activities. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"That's a good idea," Kirsten said. "Thanks for the heads up and suggestions. Enjoy your honeymoon."

"Thanks," she said. "You too."

Cameron and Kirsten headed to the opposite side of the pool to talk in private. With their heads close together, they went over what they had learned.

"Okay, so we already knew that she was found dead Wednesday morning. So now, we need to find couples that were here before then to find out what it was that made Derek and Erin stand out. We figure out the killer's motive, we'll be one step closer to finding the killer and Derek," Kirsten whispered.

"I agree," Cameron said. "Do any of these couples look familiar to you? Maybe that were on the trail with them or at the ball?"

Kirsten looked around, taking in all the couples. One couple was not so belatedly making out on one of the loungers.

"I can't be certain without seeing their faces, but that couple may have been on the trail ride with them," Kirsten said pointing at the couple next to Camille and Linus. "They might be able to help us."


End file.
